Come out wherever you are! Unions demand no-show Royston stops
cowering and starts talking
30 June 2011
Southampton strikers march against the cuts, 30
June, 12.30pm
Unions have denounced the leader of Southampton city council for
cowering from his own employees after he refused to meet with them
at the Local Government Association conference.
Today (Thursday) as the council workers march through the city
in protest against cuts, they will demand that cllr Smith and his
team abandon their "Armageddon" strategy for the city and let
meaningful negotiations get underway.
Hundreds of workers across the city - from street cleaning to
Itchen Bridge toll collectors - are on strike over the council's
plans to make them pay for the £67 million slash in city spending
over the next four years. They will march through Southampton today
in protest against the cuts, joined on the walk to Guildhall Square
by Unison general secretary, Dave Prentis, and Unite assistant
general secretary. Diana Holland.
Around 30 workers, many on strike for the past four weeks, made
the trip from Southampton to Birmingham yesterday (Wednesday) to
implore Royston Smith to withdraw his threat to sack the city's
4,300 council workforce unless they buckle and accept inferior
contracts by 11 July, but he refused to meet with them.
With strike action holding firm across the city the unions,
Unite and Unison, said that cllr Smith is lacking the leadership
and vision the city needs.
Ian Woodland, Unite regional industrial officer, said: "The good
people of Southampton and Hampshire pay tens of thousands a year so
that Royston Smith can claim his allowances. Yet when he is
asked to stand up and lead, he hides from his employees.
"This is not good enough. He has refused to talk about
workable alternatives, even when they have been put to him.
He has derailed talks, deliberately. He has tried to divide
the workforce. And he has attempted to mislead the people of
this city into believing that his cuts are necessary and that this
will save their services. Well, we know they won't.
"Royston, you have been rumbled. Your Armageddon
propaganda is not working because people do not believe you have
this city's interests at heart.
"You know what you must do. Drop your July 11th deadline, in
turn we will immediately stop the industrial action. Let's
get talks started again."
Unite members will set off from East Park Corner (near Jury's
Inn Hotel) at 12.30 as part of the march against the cuts.
ENDS
For further information, contact Ian Woodland on 07770 704
480
